The recovery of Eurasian otters in UK rivers is one of conservation's great successes, driven by water quality improvement and reduced persecution, with welfare implications throughout.
Otter welfare is closely tied to river ecosystem health - clean water with abundant fish is the foundation of their welfare needs. Road mortality is the most significant ongoing welfare harm, with otters killed on roads adjacent to rivers they are colonising. Rehabilitation of injured otters requires specialist care and carefully managed release to appropriate territories. The recovery of otters is a welfare and ecological success story driven by legislative and policy interventions - pesticide bans and water quality regulation - demonstrating that systemic policy change produces better welfare outcomes than individual animal rescue alone.